Information Technology in Volkswagen: Critical Analysis of Themes Identified

This essay discusses the critical analysis of themes identified from the interview of the CIO of Volkswagen, including quantum computing and intelligent mobility. It also recommends steps for the development of newer technologies in Volkswagen.

Running head: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
Business management
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
Introduction
Information technology is an integral part of the contemporary automobile industry due
to the fact that modern day vehicles are not positioned and marketed as the mode of
transportation; rather they are now offered as smart transportation solutions. Thus, role of
artificial intelligence and information technology is more in the automobile sector in the current
time than it was a few years ago. From the interview of Martin Hoffman, CIO of Volkswagen
group, the key themes identified are the quantum computing, artificial intelligence and intelligent
mobility (Linke et al. 2017). It is identified that the CIO of Volkswagen viewed the modern day
vehicles as the contributor in solving the traffic woes. He is of the opinion that the modern day
vehicles should have the self sufficiency of analyzing the traffic situations and thus information
technology will have important role to play in the contemporary mobility solutions
(Papageorgiou et al. 2014).
This essay will discuss about the company overview of their recent history of the
information technology being practiced in Volkswagen along with the critical analysis of the
themes identified. In addition, the issues and problems of the company in regards to the
information technology and on the basis of these issues, a few recommended steps will be
discussed.
Overview of the IT history of Volkswagen
In the recent time, Volkswagen is trying to integrate the information technologies in their
business practices and process. This is due to the reason that in the recent time, connected cars
are being introduced by Volkswagen. The success of the connected cars by Volkswagen in the
market is the proof that they are having the history of incorporating information technology in

2BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
their cars. It is also identified that Volkswagen is having their information technology research
and development centers in Munich and San Francisco. These centers are responsible for the
development of the newer IT related technologies for their products. On the other hand, it should
also be noted that information technologies are being used by Volkswagen in their internal
process also. This is due to the reason that robotics are used in the manufacturing process and
thus presence of artificial intelligence is evident in the business process of Volkswagen.
Critical analysis of the identified themes
One of the major themes identified from the interview of the CIO of Volkswagen is
quantum computing, which states the development of the computer technology on the basis of
principles of the quantum theory. Thus, according to the quantum computing, minute details and
more complex calculations and algorithm can be managed. In the case of Volkswagen, it is quite
relevant in their business due to the reason that they are trying to leverage on this concept in
solving the traffic solutions (Coppola and Morisio 2016). As per the interview of the CIO of
Volkswagen, it is identified that the accuracy and swiftness required in solving the modern day
traffic woes cannot be gained from the conventional computer technologies and quantum
computing is the only way out. It is stated by him that the modern day cars should be equipped
with technologies that will help them in detecting the traffic trends and recommending the
drivers accordingly. In this case, the conventional computing system will take more than 30
minutes of time on average, which is not effective enough. However, with the use of the
quantum technology, this detection process can be done in just 3 seconds (Woo, Jo and Lee
2014).

3BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
The infrastructural competencies of Volkswagen in terms of the information technology
will also complement in the successful implementation and returns. This is due to the reason that
they are already having two bases for technological development, which will be beneficial in
developing the new quantum computing technologies based on the sample test. According to the
interview of the CIO, it is identified that third party vendor will be made partner and certain job
roles will be outsourced (Dhall and Solanki 2017). This will have both advantages as well as
disadvantages due to the reason that cost will be controlled and regulated with the outsourcing or
partnering in the development process. In addition, the specialized knowledge will be more for
Volkswagen due to the reason that D-Wave is said to be the front runner in developing IT
solutions. However, on the other hand, it is also identified that Volkswagen will face
complexities in aligning their requirements with that of the developed technologies by D-wave
(Lu et al. 2014).
Another theme identified from the interview of the CIO of Volkswagen is intelligent
mobility, which states smart mobility and transportation solutions for the customers. As
discussed in the previous section that modern day cars are not positioned as mere transportation
mode but as more value propositions. In this case, intelligent mobility will be the most effective
solution due to the reason that with the help of the intelligent mobility, the cars will be more
connected online (Zheng et al. 2014). In the current time, smartphone users constitute the major
section of the target customers of Volkswagen and these customers are expecting higher sets of
conveniences with their cars to be controlled from their smartphones. Thus, with the help of the
intelligent mobility, customers can be provided with more conveniences by which they can
control the movement of their cars from their smartphones. In the recent time, each of the
competitors of Volkswagen is introducing connected cars in the market, which is further

4BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
prompting Volkswagen in developing the intelligent mobility for their cars (Busold et al. 2013).
In addition, it should also be noted that intelligent mobility is ever developing and evolving,
which further requires that Volkswagen maintain the continuous process of improving their
intelligent solutions. For example, as per the CIO of Volkswagen, they are initiating intelligent
cars that will be capable enough to analyze the traffic conditions by own. Thus, the value
propositions will be high compared to their competing cars. In this case, it can be concluded that
initiation of the intelligent mobility will help Volkswagen in gaining more competitive
advantages.
As per the CIO of Volkswagen, intelligent mobility for them includes autonomous
driving and smart factory. This refers to the fact that both the internal and external process are
included in developing the intelligent approach. With the help of the intelligent mobility, the
value proposition for the customers and the competitive advantages for the company will get
increased. On the other hand, with the help of the intelligence in developing the smart factory,
the internal efficiency of Volkswagen will get increased. However, it should be noted according
to the CIO interview, Volkswagen is initiating standardized approach of developing the
intelligent solution, which will not be effective in terms of their global operation (Bonnefon,
Shariff and Rahwan 2016). This is due to the reason that different regions are having different
market trends and requirements. For instance, autonomous cars will not be able to operate or ply
across any regions. Hence, in this case, the market adaptable approach of developing the
intelligent solutions should be considered and it is not said by the CIO in the interview (Fagnant
and Kockelman 2015).
The major negative point identified in regards to this theme is the complexity in
implementing the same in the real world situation. This is due to the reason that the newer sets of

5BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
information technologies will redefine the concepts of driving experience and this will not be
acceptable across the target audience. On other hand, the holistic approach being taken by
Volkswagen in terms of developing intelligent solutions will help to initiate smart approach
across the entire operation including both internal and external processes.
Identification of the missing issues
Investigating the recent past regarding the management of the information technologies
of Volkswagen will obviously indicate the diesel gate scandal. This is due to the reason that
diesel gate scandal is the biggest scam being faced by Volkswagen in their business operation.
Even though the diesel gate scandal is related to the business sustainability but installation of the
cheating software in the polluting cars denotes that technology also played an important role. It is
development process of technologies by Volkswagen that enabled them in developing the
cheating device to get installed in the car. Thus, the impact and the intensity of the diesel gate
scandal should be considered in the further development of the information technology by
Volkswagen (Siano et al. 2017). However, as per the CIO interview, there is no mention of this
identified. It is assumed that the CIO of Volkswagen intentionally omitted this topic in order to
avoid the associated controversy. However, this should have been discussed due to the reason
that the interview of the CIO should convey the message that Volkswagen learnt the lesson from
the previous controversies and their newer technologies will be more effective and value adding.
Thus, the authenticity and trustworthiness of the interview could have been maintained. In
addition, it is also identified that CIO should have also talked about the utility of the newer
technologies to be developed in mitigating the risks being caused by their cheating devices. This
would have also helped them in creating the higher sets proposition for the target customers. This
is another major provision or consideration being missed by the CIO.

6BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
Recommendations
It is recommended that the CIO of Volkswagen should consider the market differences
and diversity in developing and the newer technologies. This is due to the reason that CIO is
responsible for the development of the information and intelligent technologies across the global
operations and thus the different trend in different markets should be considered. In this case, the
CIO should convey the message of developing the technologies according to the different market
utilities. This will ensure the developing technologies of Volkswagen in meeting the proposition
of the customers across the world. On the other hand, it is also recommended that sustainability
should be major factor consideration in developing the technologies in the coming future. This is
due to the reason that sustainability is the key expectation for the contemporary customer
segments. Moreover, as Volkswagen is already suffered from the sustainability in the recent past,
this factor should be considered in regaining the trust of the customers towards their newer
technologies. The newly introduced and to be introduced technologies should be sustainable
enough for the target customers. The more will be the sustainable aspects of the new
technologies of the company, the more will be the probability of getting succeeded in the market.
It is also recommended that the newly introduced technologies should complement the core
proposition of Volkswagen rather than substituting it. This is due to the reason that offering the
sheer driving experience to the customers is the core value proposition of Volkswagen and the
newer technologies should not dilute that. For instance, technologies such as autonomous driving
are having the potential of diluting the existing driving experience of the customers. Thus, the
existing customer section might not be retained. In this case, it is recommended that the CIO of
Volkswagen should be more concentrated towards developing technologies in complementing

7BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
the core value propositions. This will ensure that the value for the customers will get enhanced
and competitive advantages for the company will also get increased.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that there are number of themes being identified from the
interview of the CIO of Volkswagen that includes quantum computing and intelligent mobility.
These themes are critically analyzed from different perspectives and it is identified that they are
well aligned with that of the information technology background of Volkswagen. However, there
are few negatives and positives being identified for both these themes. In addition, this essay also
discussed about the missing point in the CIO interview. The major missing point in the CIO
interview of Volkswagen is the non consideration of diesel gate scandal. This should have been
considered in the interview, which would have helped the company in the regaining the lost
market and the trust of the targeted customers. This essay recommended that CIO of Volkswagen
should maintain the sustainability in developing the new technologies in the company.

8BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
Reference
Bonnefon, J.F., Shariff, A. and Rahwan, I., 2016. The social dilemma of autonomous
vehicles. Science, 352(6293), pp.1573-1576.
Busold, C., Taha, A., Wachsmann, C., Dmitrienko, A., Seudié, H., Sobhani, M. and Sadeghi,
A.R., 2013, February. Smart keys for cyber-cars: secure smartphone-based NFC-enabled car
immobilizer. In Proceedings of the third ACM conference on Data and application security and
privacy (pp. 233-242). ACM.
Coppola, R. and Morisio, M., 2016. Connected car: technologies, issues, future trends. ACM
Computing Surveys (CSUR), 49(3), p.46.
Dhall, R. and Solanki, V., 2017. An IoT Based Predictive Connected Car
Maintenance. International Journal of Interactive Multimedia & Artificial Intelligence, 4(3).
Fagnant, D.J. and Kockelman, K., 2015. Preparing a nation for autonomous vehicles:
opportunities, barriers and policy recommendations. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and
Practice, 77, pp.167-181.
Linke, N.M., Maslov, D., Roetteler, M., Debnath, S., Figgatt, C., Landsman, K.A., Wright, K.
and Monroe, C., 2017. Experimental comparison of two quantum computing
architectures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(13), pp.3305-3310.
Lu, N., Cheng, N., Zhang, N., Shen, X. and Mark, J.W., 2014. Connected vehicles: Solutions and
challenges. IEEE internet of things journal, 1(4), pp.289-299.
Papageorgiou, X.S., Tzafestas, C.S., Maragos, P., Pavlakos, G., Chalvatzaki, G., Moustris, G.,
Kokkinos, I., Peer, A., Stanczyk, B., Fotinea, E.S. and Efthimiou, E., 2014, June. Advances in

9BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
intelligent mobility assistance robot integrating multimodal sensory processing. In International
Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 692-703). Springer,
Cham.
Siano, A., Vollero, A., Conte, F. and Amabile, S., 2017. “More than words”: Expanding the
taxonomy of greenwashing after the Volkswagen scandal. Journal of Business Research, 71,
pp.27-37.
Woo, S., Jo, H.J. and Lee, D.H., 2014. A practical wireless attack on the connected car and
security protocol for in-vehicle CAN. IEEE Transactions on intelligent transportation
systems, 16(2), pp.993-1006.
Zheng, Y., Rajasegarar, S., Leckie, C. and Palaniswami, M., 2014, April. Smart car parking:
temporal clustering and anomaly detection in urban car parking. In 2014 IEEE Ninth
International Conference on Intelligent Sensors, Sensor Networks and Information Processing
(ISSNIP) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.